KABUL, Afghanistan — Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Afghanistan’s new president, has basked in a warm wave of national goodwill since taking office last month. Afghans are just happy the transfer of power happened without bloodshed — a rarity here.
But Ghani has his work cut out. As he whittles away at corruption, economic problems, and

Now here’s a scary news mash-up: What if Putin were Obama and separatists in Ukraine were US-backed rebels in Syria? With the downed Malaysia airliner, we may have just caught a glimpse of a worst-case scenario.

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. — The tragic deaths of 298 people aboard a Malaysian airliner downed over eastern Ukraine might seem a world removed from the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
But in a cruel twist on the butterfly effect, the alleged actions of a scruffy group of Ukrainian separatists may well torpedo proposed

It’s now been more than a month since Islamic State extremists swept through northern Iraq, gaining large swaths of territory, a huge chunk of cash, and the dangerous mystique of an unstoppable force.
The United States has watched the

On Saturday, Afghans will go to the polls to elect a new president. If things go smoothly, it will be the first-ever peaceful transfer of power in a country where regime change has historically been engineered via assassination, coup, or foreign military intervention.
It will also serve as a verdict on the long and bloody US-led war that

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. — Think Russia has no way to put pressure on the United States? Think again.
The US relies heavily on Russia to furnish the engines that power rockets that deliver both military and civil payloads into space.
This includes GPS systems in cars and cellphones, and even systems that allow ATMs to function. Weather satellites

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. — It’s not every day that Chile gets to wag its finger at the United States.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bali this week, Chilean President Sebastian Piñera sounded like an irate parent when